After the Valkyrie Knight Order's training concluded, it was time for the next lesson.

"Are you kidding me...?"

Mimir cursed as she surveyed the sheer number of "students" she had to instruct—roughly a hundred.

This included all the members of the knight order, along with Axel, Eve, Teruria, and Nina!

Even Beatrix somehow managed to finish her task and return just in time for this.

In short, everyone except the non-combatants was present!

"Give up, Mimir..." Axel said, patting the black-and-white cat's head gently. "Teaching a small group and a large group isn't that different. Teaching all of us at once is definitely more efficient."

"You're only saying that because you're not the one teaching!" the cat growled.

Despite her complaints, Mimir didn't dismiss any "students" from her class. After all, the increased number of learners was both a blessing and a curse.

Once she calmed down, Mimir materialized and began the lesson.

"First up, the basics of the basics: Mana Manipulation. Without this skill, you can only dream of using magic," she said, waving her long tail.

In the next moment, a pile of orbs landed before her, rolling randomly—items bought from the shop on Axel's expense.

"These are magic crystals, a type of tool used to assist in casting magic," she explained.

"First, you need to pour mana into it to make it glow. Until everyone masters this stage, we won't be moving on to the next step!"

"These fist-sized orbs are? Wow..."

"So we need to move to the next step as one group..."

"Ah, I saw one of these back in the castle. The mages use these like staves!"

Chatter echoed lightly as the girls began selecting orbs for themselves.

Then, the "screening" began.

Everyone possesses mana from birth; it is a property inherent to all living things. However, merely having mana doesn't mean one can control it.

"Hnggggg! Nah, it's not working!"

"Magic Crystal, please glow...!"

"This feels... cool to the touch..."

As a result, nearly everyone struggled to make the crystal glow.

Even though they understood that they only needed to pour mana into it, only a few managed to succeed: Ria, Nina, Axel, and Arianne.

The first two were witches who used life energy to cast curses, so handling mana was something they were already accustomed to.

Axel instinctively grasped it, as his mana reserves were so large that he could literally feel it within his body. Lastly, Arianne used mana for body enhancement techniques, so she was no stranger to manipulating her mana effectively as well.

After they succeeded, the four quickly split up to offer the others some "pointers." Mimir also moved around, advising only the promising students while ignoring the rest.

Exactly fifteen minutes later...

"Unbelievable... you all actually succeeded."

Mimir could only curse lightly, overwhelmed with surprise.

She had anticipated this part would take hours, but since many of them already had experience using mana, the time required was significantly reduced.

All the orbs in everyone's hands glowed with various lights. Some displayed a solid, singular color like green, red, yellow, or blue. A few showed multiple colors mixed together, while others blended into a blur.

Axel's orb was the most unusual, being pure white for some reason. However, within that brightness, various colored lights shifted endlessly.

"But it looks like only one of you has the All Elements Affinity," Mimir noted, staring at Axel. "So, to start, we'll focus on non-elemental magic first. Fenrir, please demonstrate the Magic Arrow for them."

"Hmm? Ah, alright."

Fenrir flinched at being called out suddenly but agreed.

She waved her hand, causing a ball of blue mana from her palm to form into a long shape that flew into the sky. As the spell's name suggested, it resembled an arrow made of mana, zooming at the speed of sound!

Mimir smiled, nodding her head in approval.

"Excellent. Everyone saw that, right? If you missed it, that's your loss," she teased. "Now it's your turn. I'll explain the steps for casting it, so pay attention!"

Unlike Fenrir, who used magic instinctively, Mimir's methodical explanation was much easier to replicate. After hearing the instructions, everyone began practicing on their own or in small groups gathered in a circle.

"The first step is to gather mana..."

Axel preferred to train alone, so he moved to a remote corner of the training ground.

Following Mimir's instructions, he poured mana into the magic crystal, making it shine brightly. Since this step was simple, he succeeded on his first try. However, the next step proved to be more challenging.

"The second step is to create a solid image of the phenomenon you want to manifest..."

This part revealed the differences among individuals.

There are various methods to create a solid image of the spell, such as chanting, rituals, shortcuts, or manual (chantless) casting. With each method, there also come various styles, creating a large variety of magic techniques.

Most mages typically fall into the chanting category, with more skilled ones reaching the shortcut level. The chantless level, however, was reserved for masters.

Of course, Mimir intentionally omitted this information from them; only the witches were aware of it beforehand. Regardless, it didn't matter, as Mimir had not shared the "chant" for the Magic Arrow.

Her hope was for everyone to succeed through manual casting!

It was the most difficult yet most efficient casting type, after all.

"Ah, I did it!"

"Whoa, I'm using magic...!"

"B-Be careful! Dodge...!"

After an hour, results began to show.

A few of the knights succeeded in casting Magic Arrow. Although their attempts were still weak and unable to reach their intended targets, it was still a successful casting of the spell!

Axel, of course...

"Ugh... Why isn't it working?!"

He was still stuck on the second step.

Not only he, but Ria and Nina were also struggling. For them, their prior knowledge of casting (curse spells) made it difficult to adapt.

But for Axel, it was a different kind of torment altogether.

Once more, he gathered mana into the orb, envisioning the result he desired: a sharp arrow molded from mana. He closed his eyes, focusing all his senses and imagining the outcome, but—

POOF!

The spell fizzled out the moment he attempted to cast it.

This had been the case for the hundreds of tries he had made over the past hour!

Mimir smiled, watching Axel struggle. It was as if she took pleasure in his failures. She knew the reason for his struggles, but she kept it to herself.

It was a petty form of revenge against him for breaking the labyrinth that her previous master had painstakingly created—an unprecedented act!

"Damn!"

But Axel wouldn't be Axel if he gave up there.

"If it won't work the normal way, then what about this?!"

Almost in desperation, he gathered mana into the orb—more than he ever had before. It didn't reach the same level as prior attempts, which only made the Magic Crystal glow faintly. Instead, it began to radiate a powerful light, brighter than the sun itself!

"W-Wha—?!"

Mimir immediately sensed the danger.

"Everyone, get away from that idiot!"

A short while after her warning was issued...

A gigantic, crude Mana Arrow shot toward the sky, tearing through the thick clouds and obliterating them in the next moment with a big bang.

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